There exists in the art various clips for mounting wall panels and hangings, the clips being configured to secure the wall panel or hanging to a vertical wall in a particular configuration.
For example, clips commonly referred to as “Z-clips,” such as those manufactured by Eagle Mouldings of Loretto, Minn., have long been used to secure a wall panel or hanging to a wall. In this setting, a user attaches a Z-clip to the wall using conventional screws or nails. The Z-clip includes an upper clip portion that is disposed parallel to but slightly away from the wall, and the clip engages with a fitting that is attached to the wall panel or hanging. As such, the user has to determine the proper location of the Z-clip on the wall as well as the fitting on the wall panel or hanging in order to hang the wall panel or hanging in a particular desired location.
One disadvantage of a conventional Z-clip mounting system is that a Z-clip only provides for one hanging configuration. In other words, if a user desires to mount the wall panel or hanging in a slightly different configuration, the user must remove and reposition the Z-clip and fitting. This requires the same steps and time consuming procedure as mounting the wall panel or hanging in the first instance.
Some prior art mounting systems provide for two mounting configurations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,042,308 to Sullivan et al. discloses a clip for holding a picture frame to a vertical wall in which a protruding surface on the picture frame engages with the clip, which is secured to the wall, to hold the picture frame against the wall. The clip and protruding surface are magnetically mated such that a user can remove the picture frame, rotate the picture frame about one-hundred and eighty degrees, and then reengage the protruding surface with the clip. But even still, the mounting system disclosed by the Sullivan patent requires numerous mounting components that must be secured to the picture frame and the wall, the installation of which is time consuming and may be too difficult for some users. Even still, the mounting system disclosed by the Sullivan patent only provides for two mounting configurations.